Intersubjective Literary Interpretation: Donald Davidson, Triangulation, and the Role of the Author

A Colloquium with Jan Sjåvik.

Using Donald Davidson’s holistic epistemology as his point of departure, Sjåvik tries to show that authorial intention should again be allowed to play a role in the interpretation of literary works. Davidson’s concept of triangulation is at the core of the argument. When two or more persons together are confronted with an object in a common world, Davidsonian triangulation makes it possible to avoid the kind of skepticism that often undermines attempts at objective interpretation. Sjåvik suggests that intersubjective literary interpretation, which entails that reader and author together arrive at a common perception of the meaning of the work, should replace skeptical approaches to literature. Two examples drawn from the works of Arne Garborg are used as illustrations of this line of thinking.